


Art is love made public

by Hanguko



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Lesbian Sex, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:27:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22589398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanguko/pseuds/Hanguko
Summary: Movie were all Haseul loved and needed. Until the night Kahei entered her life.Viseul forever.
Relationships: Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Art is love made public

A thunder of applause muted the ending music, and for once Haseul couldn't complain that end credits matters as much as the rest of a movie. Under the summer stars, she felt more pride and honor than she ever had in her 22 years long life.

“They loved it! I’m sure you will win the vote!” Jinsol shooted in her ears, almost louder than the ovation.

“Please, the first one was excellent.” A wide smile betrayed her efforts to maintain her usual humbleness. She already knew that her short movie was well received by the festival’s jury as they picked it to be the last of the night but to see all the audience cheer for it was unexpected. After three years in the university’s movie club and one attempt to win the summer festival with a way too ambitious first short movie, her efforts were finally rewarded.

Scanning the crowd behind her, Haseul searched for the now familiar pink hair and the beautiful woman who had eluded her during the whole festival week. It took a few second but there she was, on the edge of the improvised theater. Haseul almost forgot to breathe, watching her clapping with a smile.

“So this is the infamous and yet mysterious woman.” Jinsol’s voice was surprisingly more gentle than mocking.”Will the two of you just keep looking at each other from afar for another week ?”

Since the first day of the festival and despite her heavy schedule as the club vice-president she had glimpsed the woman several times every day. At first it was her bright pink-hair which had catched her eyes, for their unique color and how beautifully they framed her face. Then, as she had opportunities to watch her from moderate distances, she find herself just appreciating the woman’s elegant features.  
Hyunjin was the first of her friends to caught her staring at the woman when they were eating kimbap in front of the student’s union.Soon, this new topic became Jinsol and Sooyoung favourite way to tease her. Yet every time her eyes spotted the woman she couldn't refrain from watching her until she was gone or hidden behind others.

She was a little afraid at how quickly she became obsessed by this stranger, always expecting the next encounter and wishing to see her closer to discover a new detail.  
Hyunjin had laughed loudly when she tried to talk about this new feeling, “Haseul you have a crush on a woman! Welcome to the crew.” Indeed the younger girl’s crush on Heejin was painfully obvious to everyone but Heejin.

But this eventuality was a first for Haseul. The only thing that ever mattered to her in life was cinema and most of her close friends were involved in the university movie club or in film studies. Real persons always felt more difficult to deal with than intricate camera works or character development subtlety. She had felt desire for film characters and actresses before, even touching herself in the black of the night, but never for anyone outside of a cinema screen. The day following this conversation, she surprised herself when her gaze lingered on the woman’s slender hands and uncovered shoulders. After that she couldn’t deny her growing feelings anymore.

Now that the festival was coming to its end, she had to face the possibility that this would be the last time she could see the woman. What pushed her to act way braver than she usually was? Maybe it was Jinsol’s comment.Or perhaps the euphoria of her successful participation to the festival contest. Whatever, the reason didn’t mattered as she took long strides toward the subject of her recent dreams. Panic briefly took over when she lost sight of her target, most of the audience being taller than her as usual. But the stranger was also more courageous tonight as she waited patiently, watching some students congratulate Haseul on the way.

A few meters away from her destination it occurred to her that she was utterly at lost about what to say. Her legs kept moving, only stopping when she could see the small dimple at the edge of light pink lips, eyes locked on it. Heejin always underlined how her mind was prone to fixate on narrow elements in films and life alike. She blushed, suddenly aware that she was not only staring at a stranger’s lips but also stalling the incoming conversation.

“Congratulations, your film was very good.” The melodious voice plucked her from her thoughts.

“Thank you! And hm... hello!” Of course she had to chuckle nervously, her previous bravado melting away.”My name is Jo Haseul, pleased to meet you.”  
“So you are not only the director but also the screenwriter.” Dark brown eyes glanced towards the last seconds of the end credits. “I’m Kahei, nice to meet you too.”  
“Ah well, it was a personal project...Your name is not Korean right ? It’s a beautiful one!” She added promptly, afraid that her curiosity would appear as xenophobia.

Kahei’s smile only grew larger, “You are right, I’m from Hong Kong. I just arrived at the university as an international student.”

“Great! I was afraid that you were here only for the festival… Not that it wouldn’t have been nice of course but it’s also nice that you will stay longer because I've been meaning to talk to you the whole week and if today was the only time I…”

“It’s alright, I understand what you mean. Well most of it, you speak really fast.” Kahei laughed , unflinching through her awkward but genuine verbiage. “I saw you many times this week, but my Korean teacher told us to avoid bothering the students of the cinema club during this festival.”

Haseul clasped her hands to avoid showing her shyness induced fidgeting, “You saw me ? You wouldn’t have been a bother at all, our club is always happy to meet international students.”

“That’s kind of you, I will let the others international students know… Yes, I recognized you easily because… You are very pretty and your style is unique... “ It was only now that Haseul discerned the familiar signs of timidity behind the elegant facade, oddly relieved that the feeling was mutual and that they both were pushing out of their comfort zone.

“I also found myself looking at you often this week… I mean, your hair catch the eye… Not only the colour but the way it frames your face is…” If Jinsol could hear this pathetic attempt at flirting she wouldn’t ever be at peace.

And yet, Kahei didn’t took a step back or deflected the conversation, “I was told that such a vivid color would stand out but wasn’t against the rules. I’m glad that...that you like it.”

Both women were blushing now. A small and comfortable silence settling over them, each pair of eyes studying the other. Haseul’s mind was already giving up on finding new words in favour of memorizing the precise shade of brown surrounding Kahei’s pupils.

Heejin unexpected deep voice was barely enough to pull her out of her thoughts, “Haseul ! The result of the vote for the best short film is gonna be announced shortly. You didn’t saw Jinsol message ?”

She painfully turned around to see Hyujin alongside Heejin,unsurprisingly. “Yes, the vote, yes I’m coming…” And yet she shuffled again toward Kahei rather than following her friends.

“Aeong !” Hyunjin sent her a knowing wink before reaching out to Kahei “Hey, we are interrupting, I’m Hyunjin and the smaller one is Heejin.”

“The smaller one ?!” Heejin exclaimed but Haseul could only hear Kahei’s small laugh and she whirled on herself to see it displayed on her face. That was almost as beautiful as Snowpiercer final shot.

She drew a huge breath, “So Kahei… Would you like to tag along? I mean if you don’t have more important things to do, I don’t want to presume anyth…”

Thankfully Hyujin cut her rambling short, her boldness crashing like a bulldozer through social conventions as usual, “Kahei, is my pronunciation right? Of course you come with us.I don’t want the two of you spending another week pinning on each other.” And on that note she grabbed Heejin arm to walk toward the small scene set up in front of the main complex without giving a second look behind.

Haseul didn’t felt so embarrassed in ages but she decided to follow Hyujin example for a change, or at least try. She glanced at Kahei’s eyes, attempting to not reveal how hopeful she was, “Let’s go? I promise Hyunjin is not always such a bother.”

“She sounds very funny.” Kahei added while they both made their way down the stone path, more and more people crowding them the further they went. Knowing it meant a very successful festival this year didn’t helped much to dissipate Haseul’s usual discomfort around large groups of people.

She flinched when a hand came on her shoulder but it was only Kahei’s, “Sorry, I don’t want to loose you in the crowd” The shyness in her voice and shaking fingers were well-known to Haseul. Kahei was probably as uneasy as she was.

“Too much people ?” She moved closer to the pink-haired woman, nudging her arm.

Kahei visible tension seemed to lighten a bit at the skin to skin contact without disappearing fully, “Yeah, you can’t avoid crowds in Hong-Kong so I manage it as best as I can, but it’s been harder in Seoul.”

“I’m sorry I put you through this. We can go somewhere calmer after?” Really, the evening atmosphere must be getting to her head for her to be so audacious.

“I would like it very much. But you should receive your prize first.” Kahei’s eyes shone so brightly, boosting Haseul’s confidence. That was her night, her reward for months of hard-work, and she got to spend it with this charming newcomer who had swept over her mind in a few days.

They stopped right behind Heejin and Hyunjin, the four of them facing the festival jury on a small scene. Haseul nodded to Sooyoung and Jinsol who were too anxious about the results to tease her about her company.

She pointed them to Kahei, “ The one with short hair is Sooyoung and next to her is Jinsol. They are amongst my best friends.Jinsol is vice-president of the club with me and Sooyoung is in the dance club but we are of the same age. Don’t hesitate to talk to them if you happen to meet them on campus or share classes.” Haseul knew how difficult it could be for international students to make friends, so as much as she wanted to keep Kahei for herself she would make sure she also meets her friends.

“Thanks.” Kahei could not say more as the jury ended their deliberation and started to announce the winners of each contest.

A freshman surprisingly won the essay writing contest, having delved deep into political philosophy to analyse two different movies. Hyunjin received the, well deserved, first place for the editing contest with her trailer for Oldboy framed as a romantic comedy. No-eung, the club secretary, accepted her award for the acting contest under a loud round of applause.

Haseul congratulated all of them enthoustiacly, especially proud of Hyunjin who also supervised the editing of her short movie. Anxiousness threaten to rise again in her guts until her eyes met Kahei’s again. She held her gaze with a soft smile and all Haseul could feel was warming butterflies in her belly.

“And finally, it is time to wrap up the Green Movie Festival with our most important award. This evening you all had the opportunity to watch the results of months of hard work, dedication and creativity with the 5 short movies from the cinema club. All of them were highly artistic and praise worthy. I want to congratulate every student who had worked on them. However a contest needs a winner, and a second place. I’ll cruelly start with the latter, please a round of applause for Park Jiyon and her 1448 Hours !”

Haseul tore her eyes away from Kahei to join the cheering. Jiyon’s work was the first one projected and she definitely deserved at least the second place with her character study on a deaf woman expressing herself through drawings. The whole movie felt very soft and tender and probably the only flaw that the jury may have found was a lack of central conflict.

She felt observed and the pressure rose steadily forcing her to shut her eyes. The idea for her short movie coming in a winter night. The frenzied afternoons of writing with the taste of green tea. Convincing Hyunjin and Jinsol to manage the editing and sound-mixing. The exhaustion of shooting right after classes. The incredible emotion at watching the final result at 4.AM on a computer screen that even tonight projection could not equal.

All of it came down to this second. Her life and dreams exposed to everyone’s judgement.

“I have to say, it’s been years since a jury voted unanimously for the first place.The standing ovation that it received only confirmed our opinions. Congratulations to Jo Haseul and her Nightglow !”

Was there a storm over the city for her to feel shot by lighting ? A white noise drowned all sounds and her consciousness shrunken to Kahei’s fingers brushing against her hand. It took her a couple of seconds to swim back to reality.

“Miss Jo Haseul please join us on the stage.”

She almost tripped on the couple of stairs, the realisation of finally being rewarded for her passion hitting her. She accepted the small but pretty trophy symbolizing a camera. And then the worst happened.

“Would you mind doing a small speech?”

She couldn’t refuse of course, as much as she wanted to run away from the attention, “Yes, sure.”He gave her the mic, at least she avoided to display her shaking hands.

“Okay… Hmmm first I want to thank you all for the appreciation that you shown for Nightglow and for the success of the festival.You are all invited to the next year edition by the way. Also this small speech will be a mess.” Jinsol roaring laugh covered all others,”I really want to stress that this win is a shared one. No movie is made alone and I want to express all my gratitude to everyone involved. Hyunjin and Jinsol especially, my very very talented friends. Sooyoung is single, go date her. But also the actresses, Boram first and foremost. God knows how much pressure I put on her shoulders.” She hoped it would be enough, but turning toward the jury president he mouthed the word movie.

“So the jury wants me to talk about Nightglow. I’m not certain that I can express in words how important it is to me. Not certain that I can express much in words actually.” She paused, finding comfort in her friends smiles.”Nightglow is a personal and intimate story. A young homosexual girl's conflict with her own sexuality and identity personified by a talking raven waking her up at night. That’s how I pitch it to people but truthfully it is more about a certain state of mind and inconsistent emotions than a precise plot. I think what I hoped to convey was... finding oneself is not ticking boxes like woman, lesbian, student. Coming to terms with who you are necessitate to acknowledge these dark emotions and thoughts. It calls for a constant struggle to be honest with yourself, be able to say when you feel suicidal and when you want to kiss someone you like very much.”

She locked her eyes once again with Kahei’s beautiful ones. Her heart ached at the small tear pooling in them. “Yes this movie was inspired by my own experience, which is why I feared it wouldn’t be interesting for anyone else. So I tried to make it somewhat unique visually. Until I realised that all the visuals that I came up with and absolutely loved were inherent to the themes of the movie. That’s when I abandoned any respect for conventions. Because conventions are simply boundaries. And for me, cinema is all about crossing boundaries to share emotions,ideas,messages and the utter mess that makes us human.“

That was probably the most sentences in a row that she ever made, if she interpreted Heejin and Hyunjin stunned expression correctly. She was getting high on confidence from winning and fascinated by the openness and understanding in Kahei’s eyes. The come down was unavoidable but she allowed herself to fully live this precious moment.

“It seems that this approach touched at least some of you and I’m very grateful. And hmm yes that’ll be all for me.”

The constant attention was slowly starting to push through her bubble of happiness so she hastily gave back the mic and left the stage. Only to find herself crushed in a collective hug by her friends and cinema club members, all of them singing her name. Sooyoung had to mess with her hair, as usual. It took several minutes to thanks all of them, accept congratulations and promise to Jinsol and Heejin to join them for lunch the next day.

Finally Haseul escaped at the research of Kahei. The foreign woman was not where she last saw her. Did she had to leave to catch the subway? Did she got bored to wait for her? Did she herself made clear that she would go for her as soon as she can?

“She said she would be happy if you joined her on the bench in front of the library.”

“Hyunjin,you are the best.” Her nervous thoughts receded in favor of a mental map of the fastest way to the library. Right down the music building, pass the main hall, 36 staircases, cross the road.

“Go get your girl !” Hyunjin had to scream her encouragement, or was it a taunt,for she was almost running in the night.

Haseul's everyday awe for the campus and pleasure to roam it was weirdly stronger tonight. The buried lamps made shadows swirls on the stairs and around her legs. The fresh air of the night mixed with summer’s flowers, a sanctuary within Seoul boiling air pollution. She stopped for a second, saying hello to an old camphor tree under which she often stayed to study and have lunch.

Kahei was there, waiting with her legs tucked cutely under the stone bench. And she didn’t felt awkward but relieved at being back in her presence. The moment Kahei turned toward her she was struck again by her singular beauty. Her lithe figure, expressive eyes and ivory skin.

“Hey… someone told me I would be welcome here.” she stood in front of her, slipping into their special vibe, oscillating between shyness and closeness.

“I thought you would prefer somewhere more peaceful.”

“I do ! I hope I didn’t frighten you with this speech stuff… I can get really passionate about cinema.” Haseul crossed her hands behind her back, aware of how much she has revealed about herself earlier.

“Not at all. Do you mind taking a walk with me? I enjoy the campus forest a lot.” Kahei stood up and they fell into a natural rhythm. Neither of them startled when their shoulders or forearms brushed. The stone path heads to a quite large forest, sheltering the archives building.

Kahei broke the silence softly, “What you said on the stage was very brave. You had no reason to reveal how your short movie was so personal, the jury and audience loved it anyway... “

Haseul’s heart shortcutted her brain “ I had a reason… I wanted you to know. Perhaps not in one burst but I wanted to share it with you.” Her fingers sought hers with sparse touches.

“I... I highly appreciate that.” Kahei avoided her eyes which she didn’t blamed at all. Direct eye contact was difficult for her too, even more in these conversations laced in blurred emotions. “Your movie resonated with me a lot. I mean, as a woman who loves women and having to figure myself in a foreign country… I lived in England for one year before coming here. What I want to say is, the sensibility that you poured through this movie touched me deeply.”

Her heart was beating wildly, fine elf-like ears straining to not miss a single intonation from the Hong-Kongese woman.Don’t get ahead of yourself she reminded. For the first time that someone was showing some sort of interest for her, she better not ruin it.

"Do you come here often ? We don't have forests like this in Hong-Kong, in the middle of the city and yet isolated like some lost secret." She didn't mind the change in the conversation, seeking any opportunity to learn more about the young woman.

"I do. It's high on the hill so many students avoid going there. Makes for a perfect spot to read or write in peace between courses."

"Maybe I will join you." The line was played as a slight joke but for once Haseul detected the underlying hope.

She sent Kahei a reassuring smile, "Anytime, anywhere."

They arrived in front of the Archives building. With a traditional Choson era architecture, it was the oldest of the campus and it’s ancient aura could be either comforting or eerie at different times of the day.

"It was built in 1928 when they moved here from Seodaemun. My grandmother studied inside in the 1960's but it was repurposed for archive since then."

She sat on the stony stairs, patting at her side to invite Kahei. When their shoulders brushed, the night felt warmer.

"Sorry if I bore you. Heejin is the history nerd of our group but I share her passion when it comes to the one of our university."

Kahei was quick to dismiss her apologies, "Not at all, I like history both grand and small. And you have such a nice voice…"

Thankfully the dark of the night hid her reddening cheeks, "Thanks! So is History your major?"

"No, but history is important for my major. I study international relations, and I hope to join the public diplomacy graduate school here after my exchange year."

"Wow, these are so complex topics. You must be really smart !"

Kahei's embarrassed laugh made her smile wider, "I guess… I'm just really interested in it. It is a subtle field but I hope I can do some good in the world later. Helping multiple countries and communities solve issues together. Film making sounds extremely difficult too."

"It can be, mostly because nothing can be done purely alone. Everyone brings ideas,changes and their own touch. So you have to trust many people. I'm lucky my friends are talented and work well with me.I'm a little worried about future colleagues if I pursue on this way…"

Kahei shoulder bump was simply comforting. There was no denial of her anxiety, no attempt to downplay it as a future issue or even lackluster encouragement. Only kind understanding.

The chill of the night settling for good was a cruel reminder that this day was coming to its end. She didn’t want to leave, to return to a reality without Kahei at her side.But she couldn't hold her here forever.

"It's getting late… Do you need to ride the subway to go back to your place ?" She stood up, waiting for Kahei.

"No I live on campus, in the international students dormitory." They started the walk back to the campus main entrance.

"Oh that's nice, the building looks very modern and no subway to go to classes !" Haseul felt kinda jealous at this point, and once again Kahei seemed to read her mood perfectly.

"I will show you the facilities if you want, maybe even my room." The wink along with the tease sent her heart in a fast beat. It took her a few moments to pull her thoughts away from the image of Kahei lounging on her bed in denim shorts and tank top, thighs shining under the summer sun.

“Does it means we can hang out again another day?” Her tone carefully light, hiding both apprehension and eagerness.

“I want to, yes. Would be a shame to waste another week just watching each other now that we have met right ?” Both women smiled at their previous behavior. How silly it sounded that they both were unaware of the other’s gaze and attention for a whole week.

They took the eastern path to walk down the campus, along the engineering and sciences buildings ,which are quite boring if you ask Haseul, but also on the hill’s ridge, giving a full view of Seoul’s night lights.

“Do you see all these green lights in a line far over there ?” Kahei nodded, her face cutely focused “ It’s Ewha-dong, my favourite part of Seoul.”

Her invitation wasn’t as subtle as she expected for Kahei’s smile grew wider while asking for a personalised tour or maybe several. Flustered, Haseul just feigned to observe the city for the rest of the way. Several couples stood at the main gate, exchanging hugs and kisses to say goodbye, a sight not helping the brunette to push through her embarrassment.

Once again Kahei saved her, her voice calling for Haseul’s full attention, “Can I give you my kakaotalk ID ? Or my phone number if you prefer ?”

Haseul fumbled to take her phone out of her back pocket, thanks to her ridiculously tight jeans gifted by Sooyoung to ‘highlight her nice ass’. She would stop wearing them if Sooyoung wasn’t so scary.

“I mostly use kakaotalk but your number can be useful too.” A few numbers typed in her phone by delicate fingers ; seemingly insignificant, a detail in the grand scheme of the world but so meaningful for Haseul. A tangible link with the still largely unknown and yet familiar pink-haired woman.

“Here you have them both, contact me when you want to.” Another kind smile, lips pressed together as if sharing an intimate secret. All she had in mind was to kiss these lips right now. But it wouldn’t be right, Kahei was probably just happy to make a new friend in this foreign country, nothing more. Anyway kissing someone without consent was terribly inappropriate. Very cinematic but a rather shitty behavior in real life.

Restraining herself Haseul moved forward very slowly, leaving Kahei the opportunity to withdraw, to leave a faint kiss on a smooth cheek “Thank you, I’ll send a message right away” The knowing smile she received made her flush “To let you know that I’m safe back at my apartment.”

“Of course, sleep well and see you soon Haseul !”

After a few steps she turned back to wave goodnight at Kahei who was clearly admiring her bottom. Maybe Sooyoung deserved some thanks after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thanks a lot for reading ~~
> 
> I wanted to write a more classic story focused on characters so there it is ! 
> 
> It starts as an university AU but my outline includes their life as young adults in this mess that is life after graduation.
> 
> I'll try my best to make this story enjoyable. Any suggestions or feedback would help !


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